news via kotaku

My friend Mike in New Haven, Conn. is a gamer. Not a hardcore gamer, but he's definitely done his share of gaming and console buying over the years. he loves his DS, but since the arrival of his 7 month old son, Paul, he doesn't have time for midnight launch madness or waiting around in the cold all night for the newest console. He was, however, very interested in getting a Wii. Since he had Paul last night, he decided to wait until this morning to see if he could actually acquire one. So, He made his way to the local target around 8am.

Upon arriving, he was greeted with the scene that is so familiar at this point, a huge line of people. There were about 60 people in line and as he walked up, he was informed that there were only 60 Wiis and that they had just given out all the claim tickets. It looked like it was going to be a day of running around with an infant trying to find his system. A daunting task, certainly. So, imagine his surprise when a gentleman approached him as he was leaving.

I had just gotten the car door open for Paul when this guy approached. I have to admit I was a bit dubious of his motives but the whole line was standing there watching. He said he had an extra ticket, and I was thinking he wanted to make money off of me and I said, "You're serious? Do you want something for this?" He just said no, that he saw me with the baby and he had an extra he was going to sell on eBay.

He had camped out with his sister since 11 pm to buy a Wii for his 8 y/o son for Christmas. He had never even heard of the Wii until two days ago. He said he was going to buy his son a PSP, but then the boy said he wanted a Wii instead. Then he walks to his car to get the extra ticket and comes back and hands me the ticket and I take my place next to him in line, feeling a little odd about cutting, but thrilled because I had my Wii!

It's so nice to hear stories of things like this happening with the Nintendo launch. It really gives one hope for the future. ...

news via kotaku

Nintendo held their Los Angeles based midnight launch at Universal Citywalk, which, on a Saturday night, is already filled to near capacity. Add an extra thousand gamers and you get a maddening crowd.

After $20 worth of "preferred" parking, we made the journey through the thick soup of teenagers and families to the far end of the strip. Basking in the tacky neon glow illuminating everything around us, I finally see the sign: EBgames! I'd never been so thrilled to see one.

After witnessing what looked like a surprisingly short (and sparse) line, we learned that the line had been split up into segments, wrapping around the Hard Rock Cafe and far beyond. With gamers stacked several hundred deep, I knew there was no way I'd sneak my way into nabbing a last minute Wii for myself.

The line had started to form early Friday for Saturday night's Wii launch. Staying cool in nothing but red overalls, Jonathan Mann was first in line. He was going to have his Wii handed to him by Nitnendo's very own George Harrison at 12:01.

To keep the Wii faithful entertained while waiting in line—despite the fact the virtually everyone was armed with a DS or DS lite—Nintendo had off-road Segways with widescreen monitors cruising through the crowd.

For line gawkers and passersby, about a dozen Wii demo stations (as well as a handful of DS kiosks) were installed. Gamers lined up to play Excite Truck, Wii Sports, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Red Steel. Hundreds of onlookers got their first exposure to the Wii that night and the buzz seemed positive.

The night kicked off with an interview with Nintendo's George Harrison, who was as excited about the Wii launch as a Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications is allowed to get. In addition to thrilling executive interviews, the crowd was also kept entertained by DJ Rap and the acrobatic group Antigravity. (We were kept entertained by the Rum Runners and Pink Sunsets from the Hard Rock.)

As midnight approached, dozens of Wii retail boxes were pulled from the stock room and stacked on the now empty EBgames register countertops. Following a rousing DJ Rap lead countdown, Mr. Mann entered the store at 12:01 AM.

After picking up his Wii, he read his Nintendo themed poem (seriously) to the gathered media. The first Wii owner exited, booty held aloft, and the patient crowd was allowed entrance. Media were quickly booted out to give the staff some breathing room.

Having engaged in midnight launches myself, I knew that the last person in line wouldn't receive his or her Wii until very, very late that night.

Sleepy from our night of heavy Mexican food, overly sweet adult beverages, we headed back to the lot. Sans pre-order and spot in line, we then set off to find our own Wii. Will we find one? ...

news via kotaku

Nintendo held their Los Angeles based midnight launch at Universal Citywalk, which, on a Saturday night, is already filled to near capacity. Add an extra thousand gamers and you get a maddening crowd.

After $20 worth of "preferred" parking, we made the journey through the thick soup of teenagers and families to the far end of the strip. Basking in the tacky neon glow illuminating everything around us, I finally see the sign: EBgames! I'd never been so thrilled to see one.

After witnessing what looked like a surprisingly short (and sparse) line, we learned that the line had been split up into segments, wrapping around the Hard Rock Cafe and far beyond. With gamers stacked several hundred deep, I knew there was no way I'd sneak my way into nabbing a last minute Wii for myself.

The line had started to form early Friday for Saturday night's Wii launch. Staying cool in nothing but red overalls, Jonathan Mann was first in line. He was going to have his Wii handed to him by Nitnendo's very own George Harrison at 12:01.

To keep the Wii faithful entertained while waiting in line—despite the fact the virtually everyone was armed with a DS or DS lite—Nintendo had off-road Segways with widescreen monitors cruising through the crowd.

For line gawkers and passersby, about a dozen Wii demo stations (as well as a handful of DS kiosks) were installed. Gamers lined up to play Excite Truck, Wii Sports, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Red Steel. Hundreds of onlookers got their first exposure to the Wii that night and the buzz seemed positive.

The night kicked off with an interview with Nintendo's George Harrison, who was as excited about the Wii launch as a Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications is allowed to get. In addition to thrilling executive interviews, the crowd was also kept entertained by DJ Rap and the acrobatic group Antigravity. (We were kept entertained by the Rum Runners and Pink Sunsets from the Hard Rock.)

As midnight approached, dozens of Wii retail boxes were pulled from the stock room and stacked on the now empty EBgames register countertops. Following a rousing DJ Rap lead countdown, Mr. Mann entered the store at 12:01 AM.

After picking up his Wii, he read his Nintendo themed poem (seriously) to the gathered media. The first Wii owner exited, booty held aloft, and the patient crowd was allowed entrance. Media were quickly booted out to give the staff some breathing room.

Having engaged in midnight launches myself, I knew that the last person in line wouldn't receive his or her Wii until very, very late that night.

Sleepy from our night of heavy Mexican food, overly sweet adult beverages, we headed back to the lot. Sans pre-order and spot in line, we then set off to find our own Wii. Will we find one? ...

news via kotaku

Nintendo held their Los Angeles based midnight launch at Universal Citywalk, which, on a Saturday night, is already filled to near capacity. Add an extra thousand gamers and you get a maddening crowd.

After $20 worth of "preferred" parking, we made the journey through the thick soup of teenagers and families to the far end of the strip. Basking in the tacky neon glow illuminating everything around us, I finally see the sign: EBgames! I'd never been so thrilled to see one.

After witnessing what looked like a surprisingly short (and sparse) line, we learned that the line had been split up into segments, wrapping around the Hard Rock Cafe and far beyond. With gamers stacked several hundred deep, I knew there was no way I'd sneak my way into nabbing a last minute Wii for myself.

The line had started to form early Friday for Saturday night's Wii launch. Staying cool in nothing but red overalls, Jonathan Mann was first in line. He was going to have his Wii handed to him by Nitnendo's very own George Harrison at 12:01.

To keep the Wii faithful entertained while waiting in line—despite the fact the virtually everyone was armed with a DS or DS lite—Nintendo had off-road Segways with widescreen monitors cruising through the crowd.

For line gawkers and passersby, about a dozen Wii demo stations (as well as a handful of DS kiosks) were installed. Gamers lined up to play Excite Truck, Wii Sports, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Red Steel. Hundreds of onlookers got their first exposure to the Wii that night and the buzz seemed positive.

The night kicked off with an interview with Nintendo's George Harrison, who was as excited about the Wii launch as a Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications is allowed to get. In addition to thrilling executive interviews, the crowd was also kept entertained by DJ Rap and the acrobatic group Antigravity. (We were kept entertained by the Rum Runners and Pink Sunsets from the Hard Rock.)

As midnight approached, dozens of Wii retail boxes were pulled from the stock room and stacked on the now empty EBgames register countertops. Following a rousing DJ Rap lead countdown, Mr. Mann entered the store at 12:01 AM.

After picking up his Wii, he read his Nintendo themed poem (seriously) to the gathered media. The first Wii owner exited, booty held aloft, and the patient crowd was allowed entrance. Media were quickly booted out to give the staff some breathing room.

Having engaged in midnight launches myself, I knew that the last person in line wouldn't receive his or her Wii until very, very late that night.

Sleepy from our night of heavy Mexican food, overly sweet adult beverages, we headed back to the lot. Sans pre-order and spot in line, we then set off to find our own Wii. Will we find one? ...

news via kotaku

Only two emails have made their way into Kotaku central so far of dead Wii.

In the first report, the reader says that the system worked sporadically for an hour and then he started getting disc read errors. Now his Wii read games about five percent of the time.

The second reader's Wii went belly-up in the middle of his network set-up.

After the long hard months of waiting for my wii, was able to get one at target this morning. I get home, set it up, power it on and go through the initial setup. I decide to configure the online settings next, click the first connection profile, and it shuts off. Dead. I try reseating everything, but it's dead. Trying to call nintendo service, but all lines are busy, they won't even let you wait for an operator. Called Target, but of course they don't have any more.

At least that last story has a happy ending. The tipster wrote back a few hours later to say he was able to get through to Nintendo and they are sending him both a new Wii and a free power supply. I assume an extra. Both should be there in three to four days.

Screens Via Comments ...

news via playfuls

In the battle of giants, the outsider seems to be the Wiiner. Unlike Sony this year or Microsoft last year, Nintendo is delighting its fans from the beginning with plenty of enticing titles and a stockpile of Wiis.

Nintendo has recently been considered sort of an outsider after Sony and Microsoft entered its gaming turf and conquered it. From the leader’s position, Nintendo slowly slide to an unsatisfying third place and few analysts would give Nintendo a chance to win back its place a year ago, when MS launched the Xbox 360.

But one should never underestimate the power of… the Wii. Nor should one forget the proverbial imagination of Nintendo’s president, Mr. Satoru Iwata. He is responsible for all recent successes in the company’s the gaming and marketing field, including the calm, but not quiet, launch of the Wii console.

He first “directed” the worldwide hit of the Nintendo DS portable console. Compared to Sony’s PSP, the Nintendo DS now surpasses its more complex rival by a factor of five to one, at least in Japan (the third most important gaming market in the world). Now, it seems that the Wii console is again in front of its Sony counterpart, with a sufficient provision at launch, a serious and intelligent marketing campaign behind it and, as a consequence, a lot of interest from fans.

Shortages for PlayStation 3 in the US (only 400,000 consoles launched two days ago, but that is just official numbers…) have stirred up masses and violence eventually burst among customers waiting in line.

Unlike Sony, who invested a lot of money in a PR campaign that has eventually proven disastrous, Nintendo preferred to invest more in the production circuit, in order not to repeat Sony’s announced failure. So they are now boasting with more than 2 million consoles ready to find their owners at this week’s debut for Wii, with another 2 million standing by, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Pre-orders for Wii have been stellar, a reason for Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to urge fans to stay in line, despite the impressive reserve of gaming gadgets.

"Wii is for both experienced and uninitiated gamers, and it will be available for the masses. Because of demand, we're urging shoppers not to get complacent. The level of demand we're seeing goes beyond the ordinary."

"Retailers are telling us a significant fraction of customers pre-ordering Wii are non-traditional gamers - people looking for a better way to play. And that's exactly what Wii is designed to provide," he added.

Reggie Fils-Aime’s advice was taken seriously by both hardcore fans and occasional gamers, some of which have camped several days and nights in front of retailers like Toys “R” Us.

At the Times Square Toys "R" Us store in New York, more than 1,000 people crowded in hope of getting a Wii signed by Nintendo’s boss, while more than 900 enthusiasts gathered for the West Coast release at the GameStop store at Hollywood's Universal City Walk.

Fans’ interest is justified by at least two factors: the price and the fun. Of course, there could be more but these two are dominating, since for Wii you’d only have to pay $279 and the games are also cheaper than for Xbox 360 or PS3. The fun is also “different” from what Wii’s rivals provide: Nintendo’s console has a new, revolutionary controller (btw, Wii’s previous name was Revolution), allowing you to play and even merge with the game’s action.

The Japanese gaming giant also added an impressive number of 65 new titles to the launch list, all built exclusively for Wii by some of the world’s best known gaming studios. Moreover, other 30 “oldies, but goodies” will soon be included in the software pack that will accompany the gadget at its launch.

Among the new titles will be "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess," "Madden NFL '07," "Need for Speed: Carbon," "Call of Duty 3," "Marvel Ultimate Alliance," "Rampage: Total Destruction," "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Creature from Krusty Krab," "Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam," "Red Steel" and many others.

Wii is due to launch on November 19th in the US, December 2nd in Japan and across Europe on December 8th. ...

news via playfuls

In the battle of giants, the outsider seems to be the Wiiner. Unlike Sony this year or Microsoft last year, Nintendo is delighting its fans from the beginning with plenty of enticing titles and a stockpile of Wiis.

Nintendo has recently been considered sort of an outsider after Sony and Microsoft entered its gaming turf and conquered it. From the leader’s position, Nintendo slowly slide to an unsatisfying third place and few analysts would give Nintendo a chance to win back its place a year ago, when MS launched the Xbox 360.

But one should never underestimate the power of… the Wii. Nor should one forget the proverbial imagination of Nintendo’s president, Mr. Satoru Iwata. He is responsible for all recent successes in the company’s the gaming and marketing field, including the calm, but not quiet, launch of the Wii console.

He first “directed” the worldwide hit of the Nintendo DS portable console. Compared to Sony’s PSP, the Nintendo DS now surpasses its more complex rival by a factor of five to one, at least in Japan (the third most important gaming market in the world). Now, it seems that the Wii console is again in front of its Sony counterpart, with a sufficient provision at launch, a serious and intelligent marketing campaign behind it and, as a consequence, a lot of interest from fans.

Shortages for PlayStation 3 in the US (only 400,000 consoles launched two days ago, but that is just official numbers…) have stirred up masses and violence eventually burst among customers waiting in line.

Unlike Sony, who invested a lot of money in a PR campaign that has eventually proven disastrous, Nintendo preferred to invest more in the production circuit, in order not to repeat Sony’s announced failure. So they are now boasting with more than 2 million consoles ready to find their owners at this week’s debut for Wii, with another 2 million standing by, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Pre-orders for Wii have been stellar, a reason for Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to urge fans to stay in line, despite the impressive reserve of gaming gadgets.

"Wii is for both experienced and uninitiated gamers, and it will be available for the masses. Because of demand, we're urging shoppers not to get complacent. The level of demand we're seeing goes beyond the ordinary."

"Retailers are telling us a significant fraction of customers pre-ordering Wii are non-traditional gamers - people looking for a better way to play. And that's exactly what Wii is designed to provide," he added.

Reggie Fils-Aime’s advice was taken seriously by both hardcore fans and occasional gamers, some of which have camped several days and nights in front of retailers like Toys “R” Us.

At the Times Square Toys "R" Us store in New York, more than 1,000 people crowded in hope of getting a Wii signed by Nintendo’s boss, while more than 900 enthusiasts gathered for the West Coast release at the GameStop store at Hollywood's Universal City Walk.

Fans’ interest is justified by at least two factors: the price and the fun. Of course, there could be more but these two are dominating, since for Wii you’d only have to pay $279 and the games are also cheaper than for Xbox 360 or PS3. The fun is also “different” from what Wii’s rivals provide: Nintendo’s console has a new, revolutionary controller (btw, Wii’s previous name was Revolution), allowing you to play and even merge with the game’s action.

The Japanese gaming giant also added an impressive number of 65 new titles to the launch list, all built exclusively for Wii by some of the world’s best known gaming studios. Moreover, other 30 “oldies, but goodies” will soon be included in the software pack that will accompany the gadget at its launch.

Among the new titles will be "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess," "Madden NFL '07," "Need for Speed: Carbon," "Call of Duty 3," "Marvel Ultimate Alliance," "Rampage: Total Destruction," "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Creature from Krusty Krab," "Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam," "Red Steel" and many others.

Wii is due to launch on November 19th in the US, December 2nd in Japan and across Europe on December 8th. ...

news via playfuls

In the battle of giants, the outsider seems to be the Wiiner. Unlike Sony this year or Microsoft last year, Nintendo is delighting its fans from the beginning with plenty of enticing titles and a stockpile of Wiis.

Nintendo has recently been considered sort of an outsider after Sony and Microsoft entered its gaming turf and conquered it. From the leader’s position, Nintendo slowly slide to an unsatisfying third place and few analysts would give Nintendo a chance to win back its place a year ago, when MS launched the Xbox 360.

But one should never underestimate the power of… the Wii. Nor should one forget the proverbial imagination of Nintendo’s president, Mr. Satoru Iwata. He is responsible for all recent successes in the company’s the gaming and marketing field, including the calm, but not quiet, launch of the Wii console.

He first “directed” the worldwide hit of the Nintendo DS portable console. Compared to Sony’s PSP, the Nintendo DS now surpasses its more complex rival by a factor of five to one, at least in Japan (the third most important gaming market in the world). Now, it seems that the Wii console is again in front of its Sony counterpart, with a sufficient provision at launch, a serious and intelligent marketing campaign behind it and, as a consequence, a lot of interest from fans.

Shortages for PlayStation 3 in the US (only 400,000 consoles launched two days ago, but that is just official numbers…) have stirred up masses and violence eventually burst among customers waiting in line.

Unlike Sony, who invested a lot of money in a PR campaign that has eventually proven disastrous, Nintendo preferred to invest more in the production circuit, in order not to repeat Sony’s announced failure. So they are now boasting with more than 2 million consoles ready to find their owners at this week’s debut for Wii, with another 2 million standing by, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Pre-orders for Wii have been stellar, a reason for Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to urge fans to stay in line, despite the impressive reserve of gaming gadgets.

"Wii is for both experienced and uninitiated gamers, and it will be available for the masses. Because of demand, we're urging shoppers not to get complacent. The level of demand we're seeing goes beyond the ordinary."

"Retailers are telling us a significant fraction of customers pre-ordering Wii are non-traditional gamers - people looking for a better way to play. And that's exactly what Wii is designed to provide," he added.

Reggie Fils-Aime’s advice was taken seriously by both hardcore fans and occasional gamers, some of which have camped several days and nights in front of retailers like Toys “R” Us.

At the Times Square Toys "R" Us store in New York, more than 1,000 people crowded in hope of getting a Wii signed by Nintendo’s boss, while more than 900 enthusiasts gathered for the West Coast release at the GameStop store at Hollywood's Universal City Walk.

Fans’ interest is justified by at least two factors: the price and the fun. Of course, there could be more but these two are dominating, since for Wii you’d only have to pay $279 and the games are also cheaper than for Xbox 360 or PS3. The fun is also “different” from what Wii’s rivals provide: Nintendo’s console has a new, revolutionary controller (btw, Wii’s previous name was Revolution), allowing you to play and even merge with the game’s action.

The Japanese gaming giant also added an impressive number of 65 new titles to the launch list, all built exclusively for Wii by some of the world’s best known gaming studios. Moreover, other 30 “oldies, but goodies” will soon be included in the software pack that will accompany the gadget at its launch.

Among the new titles will be "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess," "Madden NFL '07," "Need for Speed: Carbon," "Call of Duty 3," "Marvel Ultimate Alliance," "Rampage: Total Destruction," "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Creature from Krusty Krab," "Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam," "Red Steel" and many others.

Wii is due to launch on November 19th in the US, December 2nd in Japan and across Europe on December 8th. ...

news via next gen wars

"The next generation of gaming is upon us, and the console wars has begun. NexGen Wars.com has spent countless hours researching sales facts from dozens of sources to track the sales of the consoles and monitor the next generation of console wars between the Microsoft Xbox 360, the Sony Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii."

My first question would be how on earth are these stats updated so quickly (refresh page to view updated counts) and second.. WHO WILL WIN?

Wii is outselling PS3 already? It's been half a day!




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